Vehicle door latch structure



March 18, 194-1. H l M ER. 2,235,111?

VBHIGLE DOOR LATCH STRIBCTQflE Filed March 29, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 25 r--'| H W WWW March 18,1941. H. w. RIGHTMYER VEHICLE DOOR LATCH STRUCTUlE Filed March 29, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 18, 1941. w. YER 2,235,117

vanrcw DOOR Luca smuc'rumw Filed March 29, 1931' 4 $heets-Sheqt 4 atented Mar. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vanrcua noon LATCH sraoc'ronn Holden W. Rightmyer, Toledo, Dhio, assignor to The American dwiss Company, Toledo, @hio,

a corporation of Ohio Application March 29, rear, Serial No. 133.637

2 claim.- (Ci. seen-1st) the door to be easily closed and which is eflective when the door is in closed position continuously to urge the door into intimate engagement with its support thereby to insure that the door will not only be tightly held closed but also that rattles and other noises will be obviated.

it. further object is to produce a simple and efficient door latch and keeper structures which cooperate with each other in enabling the door to be easily and noiselessly closed and continuous- 1y urged into snug engagement with its support after being moved to closed position.

.rurther objects of this invention reside in details of construction, arrangement and operation of the latch and keeper structures, which will hereinafter be described, and. for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a fragmentary elevation of an automobile doorand its support showing the door ajar and showing in a general way the latch and lreeper structures;

.Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on the line t--2 of Fig. l of a portion of the door and the body showing the rubber cushion against which the door is urged when in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the latch structure, the remote control being omitted;

Fig. i is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view ofa portion of the door audits supporting frame, taken in the region or the latch and keeper structures;

Fig. 5 is a vertical elevation of the keeper structures takensubstantially on the line 5-4 of Fig. i and showing thelatch bolt in engagement with the rotor of the keeper;

me. 6 is a sectional elevation substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 4 showing a side edge view oi a keeper structure;

Fig. 'I is a transverse sectional view on the line ll-l of Fig. 6, showing in dotted lines the action oi the dog releasing finger during the closing of the door; i

Fig. 8 is a plan view oi. the rotor;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-4 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view on the line iu-l'fl of Fig. 5 showing an edge view of the spring tensioned arms which coact with the rotor;

Figs. ll, l2 and iii are perspective views of the three spring tensioned arms of the keeper respectively;

Fig. it is a diagrammatic view of the keeper arm assembly; t Figs. 15, lo and 17 are diagrammatic views showing the successive operation of the spring teusioned arms indicating the manner in which they successively act against a rotor blade to impart movement to the rotor for urging the latch 16 bolt and door to which it is secured into intimate engagement with the door frame or support;

Fig. Bis an alternate form of keeper structure;

F l9 is a side elevation of one of the arms an the rotor showing diagrammatically the resul s secured by the use of notches formed in the cam surface oi the arms and Fiiwflll, 2i and 22 are diagrammatic views, similar to Figs. l5, l6 and 17 respectively, showing the position of the rotor and arms in various 20 positions oi the bolt. v

This application constitutes a continuation in part oi my application Serial No. 121,433, filed January 2i, 193i, and entitled Vehicle door latch structure.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a vehicle door it having a window [I which is suitably mounted for swinging movements to and from closed position relative to a irame or support it. The latch mechanism is generally indicated at L and has a projecting bolt nose It which coacts with the keeper structure K mounted on a vertical edge of the support i2. Fromtheoutside or the door the bolt nose i3 is retracted by a handle M and on the inside of the door a handle it is suitably supported by a bracket plate It and is operatively connected.

a through the medium of an elongate link ill to the latch structure L. It will be apparent to those skilled in this art that the bolt nose l3 may be 40 retracted by operation of the inside handle II or the outside handle H to free it from the keeper K. 1 Fig. 2 shows in greater detail the swinging door Ill, such as used on automobiles, and which 4 swings to and 1mm engagement with the body or support II. In this instance, a shoulder is is formed on the door [0 and has a vertical face which abuts against a rubber cushion l9 which is L-shaped in cross section, one portion of the cushion being engaged by a. surface 20 of the door and being wedged tightly between that surface and the body. As willhereinafter appear, the door I. is continuously urged into intimate engagement with the cushion l9 thereby to elima bolt plate 23 which is urged to latching position with the latch bolt projected, by a spiral spring 24; The latch bolt is retracted from the outside of the door by the handle i4 which has a shaft 25 square in cross section and which fits into the hub of a roll back 28. The roll back 26' engages .a shoulder 21 on the bolt plate 23. The remote control link I1 is pivotally connected at .its front end to a slide 28 which has a lost motion connection with the bolt plate 23 so that when the link I1 is moved to the right oi" Fig. 1, the latch bolt is retracted against the force of the spring 24.

In this instance, the latch bolt may be blocked preventing it from being retracted by a dog 29 which is pivoted at one end-to the case plate. 2| at 30. The dog 29 has an inclined surface 3| which is adapted to engage the rear edge of the bolt nose I3. Adjacent the surface 3i is 'an inclined or cam surface 32 so ,that when the dog is free, retracting movement of the latch bolt operates to swing the dog upwardly out of operative position.

The dog 29 is retained in blocking position by the end portion 33 of the slide 28 which is shaped to snugly fit the dog 38 and prevent or block its upward swinging movement. The case plate 2| is provided with an elongate slot 34 to receive a stud 35 which depends from the front end portion of the slide 28 and thereby-guides the movements of the slide.- Disposed above the upper edge of the slide 28 is a lug 36 which is adapted to receive 'a portion of the thrust from the dog 29 which the slide is in position to block movement of the dog.

Riveted to the slide 28 is a finger 31 which is adapted to extend through an opening 38 in the flange 22 of the case plate when the slide 38 is advanced to block movement of the-dog 29. The purpose of the'finger 31 is to enable the bolt to be released upon shutting of the door. Thus, if the inside handle l5 were moved in non-bolt-retracting direction to advance the slide 28 into dog engagingposition with the door open, unless some means were provided, the door would be locked and without the use of a key mechanism, the person would be locked out of the'can By providing the finger 31 which affords slam-unlocking, the dog 29 is automatically released when the door is slammed shut.

Attention is directed to Figs. 6 and 7 which illustrate the operation of the finger 31 when the door is closed. Provided on the keeper structure K is a cam surface 39 against which the finger 31 engages when the door is closed. As the finger 31 moves along the surface 39, it is cammed inwardly as will be readily apparent.

The keeper structure K is generally shown on Fig. 5 and comprises a housing 48 which is suitably secured to a vertical portion of the support or frame l2 which has been suitably recessed to receive it. Mounted on the housing 59 is a rotor 4! which is free to rotate upon a bearing pin 42. In this instance, the rotor 4| has four equl-distantly spaced blades. The outer peripheral sur- 'face of each of the blades is especially designed to provide an arcuate cam surface 42 which has its highest point adjacent the forward edge in the direction of rotational movement fora purpose hereinafter described. In advance of this surface the forward portion of each plate has a bevelled surface 43 which provides a. safety feature so that in the event that one of the blades is in the path of movement of the finger 31 when the latter is projected from the face of the latch supporting plate 2 I, the rotor will be cammed out of the way by engagement between the beveled surface 43 of the rotor blade. and the inclined surface 44 formed at theouter end of the finger 31. An opening 44 is provided in the keeper housing 40 to receive the finger 31 when the latter is projected while the door is in closed position. The marine of each of the rotor blades has an undercut or grooved portion 45 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

One of the blades of the rotor M is adapted to extend through an opening in the housing 40' in the path of swinging movement of the bolt nose i8 and when engaged by the bolt nose it imparts counter-clockwise movement to the rotor (Fig. 5). Coacting with the rotor 4| are a plurality'of arms, in this instance three arms 46, 41

and 48 being provided. These arms are mounted on a common pivot 49 and are yieldingly urged toward the rotor by springs 50, one spring being provided for each of the arms. The structure of the arms 49, 41 and 48 is of utmost importance in order to obtain the desired result which is to urge the rotor in a counter-clockwise direction after first being acted upon by the bolt nose I3 so that a continuous and uninterrupted force is exerted against the rotor for forcing the-door against the rubber cushion IS with a uniform pressure. The advantage of this operation will be apparent in that even after the door-is closed against the rubber cushion l9, a force is thereafter urging the door into more intimate engagement with such cushion. Thus the door can not only be closed easily and with practically no noise but in addition, it-is much more securely held in closed position against rattles and vibration than 48, as will hereinafter be described, operate successively and uninterruptedly so that afterthe camming action of one arm has about become completed, another arm will have commenced its camming action and so on until the door is completely closed.

An examination of Figs. 11, 12 and 13 will show the difference in contour of the several arms. Attention is directed to the arrow lines on each figure which indicate the points from which the arcs have been taken to arrive at the proper cam surfaces. In the form shown, the arm $6 is first brought into play. After the high point on the peripheral surface of the particular rotor blade has been passed by the arm 48, its cam surface is brought into play and through the force of its spring 59, a camming action is exerted against the engaged surface of the particular rotor blade. During this time, the arms Q1, and 58 ride over the peripheral surface of the rotor blade. After the. camming action of the arm 36 is about completed, the cam surface of the arm Q1 commences operation and then substantially at the time the camming action of the surface '52 is completed, the cam surface 53 of the arm 38 is brought into operation.

Attention is directed to Fig. 14 which diagrammatically illustrates the manner in which the cam surfaces 5!, 52 and 53 coincide with each other. Thus, after the cam surface St has operated to cam-the rotor 4! for a short distance, then without any interruption in the camming action, the cam surface 52 of the arm 41 is brought into play and then without any furfled by the numbers 46'', and 48*.

their interruption, the cam surface 53 of the arm 48 becomes operative immediately after the surface 52 has been passed over. As above indirated, it is of real importance that the arcs of these cam surfaces coincide with each other to effect a smooth and uninterrupted c'amming action against the rotor blade.

Preferably, the parts should be so constructed and arranged that when the door has been completely closed against the rubber cushion l9, all of the arms will not have expended their camming action but on the contrary, it is more desirable that some camming action of these arms or at least one of them be utilized to continuously urge the rotor in a counterclockwise di-.

rection so that pressure is exerted against the bolt nose It thereby to secure more intimate engagement with the rubber cushion I9. Due to the jars and shocks of the vehicle during road travel, the tendency is for the door to be urged The face 5d of each of the blades of the rotor ti which engages the bolt nose I3 is constructed at such an angle to ,the rest of the rotor that a sizable surface of the bolt will be engaged instead of merely apoint contact (Fig. 9). This is of advantage in reducing wear on the parts as much as possible.

The alternate form of keeper structure shown on Figures 18 to 22 is similar to thathereinbefore described and detailed description thereof is not'considered necessary except in connection with the changes in construction. As in the above described form, three spring tensioned camming arms are employed, these being identi- These arms havecamming'surfaces similar to the surfaces til, 52 and"53 above described but on each of' these surfaces are formed a series of notches 55 for a purpose hereinafter described. Also it will be observed that the arm 46* on its rearward or inner end is formed with an outwardly projecting finger 56 which is engageable with a lug 51 projecting laterally from the keeper housing. The engagement of the finger 56 and lug 51 is of importance in preventing the spring which actuates the arm 45 from actuating it beyond. the eifective c'amming period and imparting a force to the rotor 4| urging it in the opposite direction. It will be understood that the arm 46 is first brought into operation and unless some means is provided for limiting the pivotal movement of this arm after it has exerted its camming action against one of the blades of the rotor it will move inwardly against the preceding blade and impart thereto a force tending to turn the rotor in a direction opposite to that desired.

Referring to Fig. 19, it should be noted that the notches, the number of which in eacharm or blade maybe varied as desired. are preferably shallow in order that they do not interfere 'materially with the camming action of the individual arms. It will be understood that the notches 55 successively contact a blade of the rotor against which camming action is being imparted and the grooves serve to prevent the rotor from being rotated or turned in a direction opposite to that desired for holding the bolt in its raised or closed position. It has been found'that at times in cases-where the notches have been' omitted that if the force exerted by the bolt I! even more tightly against its frame or support I in a door-opening direction is sufflciently'great, it will cause the rotor to cam the arms out of the way and permit the door to be released from the rotor. The function of the notches 55 may be described as follows: on Fig. 19 an are 58 is scribed from the axis of the arm 45. The line 59 represents the arc of the cam surface of the arm 45. It will be apparent that the are 59 in the direction of camming action of the arm 46" is of constantly increasing radii. It will be apparent that if the'reverse force of the rotor 4|- exceeds that of the spring actingagainst the arm 46*, it would be enabled to rotate in a clockwise direction (Fig. 19) and guide the arm in a clockwise direction. However, to counteract this action, the pointed portion of the rotor 4| engages in one of the shallow notches 55 so that the force exerted by the rotor is directly in line with the axis of the arm it thereby preventing such reverse camming action. Each notch 55 should either be substantially tangent to the are 58 or extend inwardly toward the center of the axis so that the reverse force imparted by the rotor is substantially in line with the axis of the arm M It will be understood that the above described action takes place in connection with the notches of each of the arms but the above description is deemed sufllcient. The action of the arms with respect to the rotor will be apparent from inspection of Figures 20 to 22 and except for the above changes in construction, the arms and rotor operate as hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and oporation may be effected without departing from 35 able with the bolt upon retraction thereof for moving same out of operative engagement with said bolt. means actuated by said plate for blocking movement of said dog out of operative position relative to said bolt, and means movable with said plate adapted to project from the latch when said dos, blocking means is in operative p sition, and movable inwardly upon slamming of the door for moving said dog blocking means to inoperative position.

2. A vehicle door latch comprising a spring tensioned latch bolt, inside and outside retractors for said latch bolt, said inside rectractor including a plate having lost motion relative to said bolt when the latter is in latching position, a

pivotal dog engageable with said bolt for blocking retracting movement thereof. means on said dog engageable with the bolt upon retraction thereof for moving same out of operative engagement with said bolt,means actuated by said plate for blocking movement of said dog out of operative position relative to said bolt, and a sliding finger movable with said plate adapted to project from the latchwhen said dog blocking means is in operative position, and movable inwardly upon slamming of the door for moving said dog blocking means to inoperative position.

' HOLDEN W. RIGHTMYER. 

